Six buyers, including private equity firms Candover, Cinven and CVC Capital Partners, have been shortlisted for the second round of bidding for Northcliffe Newspapers, a division of Daily Mail & General Trust, in an auction expected to value the company at about £1.5bn (€2.2bn).

A source close to Daily Mail & General Trust confirmed that Cinven is backing Jim Brown, former chairman of UK publisher Newsquest, and that Candover is backing Chris Oakley, a former director of rival publisher Regional Independent Media.